The Science Behind Why You Procrastinate In The Afternoon (and How To Stop)

It’s 3 p.m. and you find yourself struggling to focus on work. You can’t seem to stop checking Facebook. Instead of being productive, you welcome distractions like text messages and co-workers coming by to chat.

Welcome to the afternoon slump: that time in your workday when your brain refuses to cooperate with you and you can’t stop procrastinating.

You could also just be drained after a full morning of tough meetings and debates with your team. Willpower is a finite resource; we all start with a certain amount every day, and it diminishes with every decision or choice we make.

Whatever the reason for your lack of afternoon focus, let’s look at some research-backed lifehacks to help break out of the daily slump and finish your day strong.

1. Eat something, but make sure it has this one thing

Making decisions and concentrating on tasks tire out your brain. It’s an effect called “ego depletion.”

In a study looking at the factors affecting judicial rulings, researchers found that the likelihood of a favorable parole verdict was highest when the judge recently had a food break:

We’ll come back to the judges in a second.

In a study about willpower by E.J. Masicampo and Roy Baumeister, participants were asked to watch a silent video of a woman talking while words flashed on screen. One group was asked to focus their attention solely on the woman and try to ignore the words. The second group received no particular instructions.

The researchers measured participants’ blood-glucose levels before and after the task. They found that the group who had to exert effort to ignore the flashing words words had significantly lower glucose than the other group who’d simply watched the video.

So what’s the link between the judges and the silent video?

Glucose — a type of sugar — plays a role in our mental performance and decision-making ability. When your willpower is running low, you tend to make the decision that presents the least resistance. In the judges’ cases, they chose to keep the status quo and deny parole instead of making the much more difficult choice of setting a prisoner free. In your case, it’s choosing between checking Facebook or diving into a spreadsheet.

So how do you replenish your willpower?

Eat something and make sure it has the right kind of sugar. Masicampo and Baumeister’s findings showed that sweeteners like Splenda don’t count, and you don’t want to go for a sugary or starchy high either. Instead, as Baumeister suggests in his book, Willpower:

2. Take a nap for this long, and no more

It’s the afternoon slump. You could really use a nap, but you fight the urge. You press on at half your mental capacity instead of taking time to recharge.

We keep seeing more and more literature that napping is not only natural but really good for you. Consider how many of us aren’t getting enough sleep and a siesta starts to make a lot of sense!

How long should you nap for?

Before we answer, we have to understand the concept of “sleep inertia,” which is that grogginess you sometimes feel upon waking. That fuzzy feeling isn’t great when you’re in the office. We want to avoid that.

Sleep inertia comes into play after ten minutes of napping. So if you’re looking for a quick pick-me-up, ten minutes seems to be the magical interval for your nap. Anything more than that and you’ll wake up feeling a bit groggy, and you’ll need to spend extra time to grow alert.

To maximize the release of endorphins, follow advice that high-intensity exercise is best for reducing stress and anxiety. So instead of jogging on the treadmill, do sprints. Not only will you get more endorphins, you’ll be able to get more results in a shorter amount of time.

4. Take a break that benefits your whole team

It’s the afternoon slump and you’re finding yourself unable to concentrate. What would you normally do in this situation?

If you’re like most people, you’ll try at least one of these things:

– Get a coffee
– Check Facebook
– Chat with a coworker

The logic seems clear: I’ll do something to take my mind off work for a second so I can recharge. Then I’ll return to my desk with more energy.

Know Your Mind and Body to Combat the Afternoon Slump

We’re constantly learning more about willpower, motivation and managing our energy at work. Still, nothing will beat your own firsthand experience. Run your own tests and experiment with ways to recharge. Keep a journal to note when you’re feeling tired and see what works for you!

“I Done This allows us to track performance and of course, it’s amazing to keep in sync with everyone, working as a remote team. I Done This is invaluable to us and has changed our productivity for the better.”